


Admiration

by APHNyoGermany



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pining John, Pining Sherlock, Teen Romance, Teenagers, watching from afar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 16:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11536038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APHNyoGermany/pseuds/APHNyoGermany
Summary: TeenLock, BalletLock, RubgyJohn. Sherlock is determined for no one to know how he watches John from afar. John has tried to get close to Sherlock but was rejected, forcing him to admire from a far. Funny how a simple science project can reveal what people try to hide.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this on Fanfiction.net Thought I ought to start uploading things on here. This is my first time posting on here so let me know if I make a mistake.

Sherlock moved closer to the field, meaning he had to slouch to fit his tall body under the bleachers but it was all worth it. He came up to the perfect view of John Watson, the school rugby captain, bending over to pickup the ball. They had to of gone through this one play at least four times by now but John was a perfectionist, and all over perfect as far as the young genius was concerned, and he refused to leave good enough alone. He started barking out orders in a way that made Sherlock shiver. He quickly tried to reign himself, conscious of making too much noise. He would much prefer not needing to explain why he was crouched under the bleachers watching the team. He had a notebook with him full of fake notes just in case. Being openly gay made everyone jump to assumptions about his reasoning so he made sure to have a flawless cover story. One so perfect even John would approve of its cleverness. If anyone asked, Sherlock would simply explain that he was studying the muscular development of teenagers as a side project. Bring a known genius meant this wouldn't be considered odd for him. He sighed, watching John's form as he threw the ball to his friend Mike Stamford. John's form was wonderful, though Sherlock critical eye spotted things that could be improved to maximize his aim. Sherlock should tell John about how to improve his throws. But that would require speaking to the rugby player and that was impossible. John was much too popular to be seen with the likes of outcast Sherlock and being in the same room as him was enough to make all of Sherlock's blood flood his face. No, Sherlock was mostly content to watch from afar.

John quietly cursed himself as he jogged to the theater. He made sure his hoodie and hat was arranged in a way to not be overly recognizable but also not looking like he was an escaped convict. Finding everything suitable, he followed the crowd, buying a ticket and finding his seat. He slouched a bit, the opposite of his normal posture, and bounced his knee the normal mix of excitement and nerves filling him. It was the newest ballet performance by the school. He made sure to come to all of them. It wasn't because he had a major love for the arts or dance or anything, though he found his appreciation has increased recently, rather one of the dancers. John knew himself well enough to tell when he had a crush and he had one. Bad. He couldn't help it though. Sherlock dancing was a thing of perfection. Seeing the normally remote, hostile and isolated teen opening himself to the music and flow was enough to sweep John away as well. The lights dimmed and the music started. John gripped his seat, eyes riveted to the stage. The curtain rose and there he was. Sherlock started the dance, quickly becoming lost in it. Must be one he liked then. Sherlock danced with the grace of the wind but the precision of a weapon. At the final note, John is among the first standing in applause. He's not so far gone to be the first but his admiration gets the better of him, making him not far behind. He hurries out of the theater hoping to avoid recognition. It always leads to an awkward conversation ending with John lying that his sister was in there but he wasn't supposed to come. He Hayes lying but refuses to miss the shows. He wishes he could talk to the young genius dancer but his few attempts had ended in silence and annoyed looks. It would seem he's stuck watching from afar.


	2. Partners

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A science project has Sherlock and John working together. John is determined to get a date out of the boy genius while Sherlock is simply determined to not embarrass himself. Will they manage their goals?

It was time for science, the one class Sherlock enjoyed even it it was only slightly. It was hardly because of the lessons, though the occasional experiment that he could get to explode was nice. It was because this was the one class he has with John. He obviously limited contact with the perfect human specimen; he needed blood in his brain, not his face. This didn't mean he couldn't sneak peaks. He always finishes his work quickly and had mastered how to watch John without being noticed. The way he stuck his tongue out slightly while thinking was simultaneously adorable and suggestive.   
Today, the teacher seemed especially excited. Sherlock watched her flutter about the room dully, wondering how much of her mood was from her upcoming date with a man she doesn’t know is gay and how much was from the half thought out plans she was eager to try with the class. As the bell rang and everyone settled in, she skipped in front of the class with a huge grin.  
“Hello class! Today, we are going to start a new experiment that I know all of you,” she gave Sherlock a pointed look and wide smile, “will enjoy!” The class snickered at the look and Sherlock rolled his eyes. “The reason I know this is because you get to pick your own experiment!”   
Sherlock did perk up at this. Any experiment he wanted? The possibilities started unraveling and he steepled his fingers under his chin, looking forward to this assignment. That is, until the next thing out of the teacher’s mouth crushed his excitement.  
“I have all of you paired up into partners that you will be working with outside of class for the next four weeks. I will offer advice and help in anyway I can but you are in control.”  
Sherlock scowled. Partner? This was going to be a disaster. He always ended up with some half minded boring person wanting to make a clay volcano and call it science! This was unacceptable. He was going to talk to the teacher as soon as he had the chance and demand to work alone. He started forming the detailed list of reasons he should work alone as she started listing names. He didn’t pay attention until he heard John’s name.  
“John Watson and Sherlock Holmes.”  
Sherlock stared at her in shock 

John raised his eyebrows as he hears he was with Sherlock for the experiment. He grinned slightly and glanced at the boy genius to see him bug eyed and staring at the teacher. Was he that shocked to be working with John? Was that a good or bad sign? John thought but couldn't think of anything he had done to warrant that reaction.  
Next to him, Mike nudged him to get his attention. John glanced over at him.  
“Hey mate. Shame we can’t be partners. Good luck with Sherlock. If anyone can handle that boy it’d be you. You have the patience of a saint.” Mike slapped him on the shoulder good naturedly.  
John nodded and looked at his partner again. He started making plans on how to befriend the antisocial genius. If John played his cards right, he might just be lucky enough to get a date out of the boy. John smiled and began making plans in his head.  
“Okay class. Now that you all know who you’re partner is, the rest of the day will be spent with the two of you deciding on an experiment and getting it approved by me.” The teacher passed out a paper with requirements for the project and sat down behind her desk with a pleased smile.  
John grabbed his paper and walked over to Sherlock with the most charming smile he could manage. “Hello.”

Sherlock looked at John, seeing his smile that made the room brighter. Sherlock promptly started blushing and looked down.   
“Yes, yes. No need for introductions. Let’s just talk about the experiment.” He mentally cursed his pale cheeks and looked up at John after a deep breath.  
John’s smile faltered before coming back full force with a slight shake of his head. “Right. Of course. Did you have any ideas?” He sat down next to Sherlock and looked at him expectantly.  
“Several. The main one that intrigues me would be the reaction of blood in different chemicals.”  
John’s eyebrows rose at this before he gave it some thought. “Now that you mentioned it that could have several real world uses such as in police work. That’s a brilliant idea.” John grinned sincerely as he wrote the idea down. Sherlock blushed up to his ears and stared at John blankly.  
“You think I’m…. brilliant?” He asked hesitantly, hardly looking at John.  
“Well yeah, of course I do. I thought it was obvious that you were. Why? Do people not tell you that? If not they should.”  
Sherlock shuffled shyly in his seat. “Freak tends to be the more common phrase...”  
“Then they're idiots.” John stated firmly and certainly. Sherlock looked at him and smiled slightly. John blushed a bit himself at the smile. Sherlock’s smile changed his whole appearance. John made it his life's mission to see his smile as often as possible.   
Sherlock cleared his throat slightly and grabbed the paper. “Let’s get this approved so we can get to work.” He walked quickly to the teacher’s desk, leaving John sitting where he was. Yes, John thought, they should get to work. On more things than just the experiment.


	3. Discoverys

After some arguing with the teacher, Sherlock convinced her to approve the experiment. They were restricted in using only nontoxic chemicals and had to report in detail how they got the blood in a way that didn’t include self harm or harm of another. With the official approvement, he returned to his seat next to John.  
“Got it approved then?” John asked with a grin.  
Sherlock smirked and nodded. “Of course I did. However we are limited to nontoxic chemicals which is annoying and we have to provide a detailed report of how we got the blood for testing.”   
John nodded in understanding. “Seems reasonable. Where are we going to get the blood anyway?”   
“I volunteer at the lab in Bart’s. If I tell them it’s for school, I’m sure they’ll let me have some.” Sherlock shrugged.   
“Okay. Want to meet up at my place or yours for the experiment?”   
“I would prefer mine. I have a full chemistry set with chemicals we can use.”  
John nodded with an exasperated grin. Of course the genius would have a full chemistry set. Probably cost more then John’s house too. “Sounds fine to me. I could go to your place tomorrow after school. Will that be enough time for you to get everything?”  
Sherlock rolled his eyes. “Of course it’s enough time.”   
John stood up as the bell rang. “Fantastic. I’ll see you tomorrow after school.” He grinned and sent a cheeky wink to Sherlock before grabbing his bag and leaving. Sherlock blushed once again at the wink but grinned in answer. The game for John’s heart was on.

All that night, Sherlock obsessively organized, cleaned, arranged, rearranged and reorganized his entire house, specifically his room. Everything had to be perfect for John’s visit. He had the entire visit planned in his head. Every detail thought out and planned for. Every possibility accounted for. By this time tomorrow, he was determined to be John’s boyfriend. 

John spent the entire day in a state of nervous excitement. Tonight was going to be the night. After school today, he was going to meet up with Sherlock and walk to his place. Once there, John would work his charm through the experiment and get a date out of the boy if it’s the last thing he did. By this time tomorrow, he was determined to be Sherlock’s boyfriend.

Sherlock was waiting for John in front of the school as the final bell rang. He posed himself in an attempt to look as aesthetically pleasing as possible without it being obvious to the common passerby. Not that any of the other students paid him any mind. That was fine by Sherlock, gave him peace to check over his plan. A plan which promptly flew out of his head when he saw John jogging towards him. His smile really must be electronic since it outshone even the sun. Sherlock had spent a lot of time watching the way John ran in secret from behind the bleachers so he was unaccustomed to needing to hide his appreciation to the perfection of John Watson in motion. He ducked his face to hide his blazing blush.  
John jogged right up to him and stopped, slightly breathless. “Sorry for keeping you waiting. Got caught up by some rugby friends.” He grinned and tossed his hair out of his eyes.   
Sherlock nodded. “Sorry for keeping you from your friends. Shall we be on our way?” He said, a bit stiffly.  
John looked at him. “Hey now, don’t be like that. You aren’t keeping me from anyone. I’ve looked forward to meeting up with you all day. Lead the way.” He grinned and gestured exaggeratedly.  
Sherlock’s blush was so bad he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. He ducked his head again and fidgeted with his sleeve before walking off at a semi brisk pace. John kept up easily, despite Sherlock’s significantly longer legs. He tried for casual conversation a few times but eventually the pair fell into a companion silence. Sherlock raised his head once his blush subsided and glanced at John. He found him looking around him, appreciating the walk. Upon catching his eye, John grinned at Sherlock broadly. Sherlock’s lips twitched slightly in response and he slowed his pace a bit.   
Sherlock took them the longer way, showing John the park near his house. He made deductions about the people they passed and John would laugh and compliment his intelligence. Sherlock would blush and grin. When they finally got to Sherlock’s house, John was telling a story of a prank he had pulled on one of his team members and Sherlock was chuckling under his breath. Sherlock lead them straight to his room, hoping to avoid the mood kill that was his brother. His parents were at work and be so until late, leaving only his brother in the house.   
John looked around his room. Sherlock fidgeted slightly. He didn’t have many of the classic teen decorations such as band posters. He did have a few of his ballet trophies on his desk, the periodic table on his wall and Skully on his bed. John finished his survey and look at Sherlock. “Nice room. The periodic table might be helpful.” He joked lightly, if a bit awkwardly, hoping to get Sherlock to relax.   
Sherlock stopped his fidgeting and quickly grabbed the blood samples from the mini fridge. John took off his hoodie and came over to help. Sherlock discussed the procedure he was planning and John took out his laptop from his bag, typing up what Sherlock said. They silently agreed that Sherlock would do most of the actual testing while John recorded. The experiment went smoothly, nothing exploded and the results were interesting. John typed everything up, even reminding Sherlock to tell him how he got the blood in detail so they didn’t get in trouble with the teacher. They soon found they had some downtime as Sherlock had decided to see the effects over time as well. There was a set to be looked at in an hour and a set to be looked at in a day.   
John saved everything and stretched while Sherlock sat on his bed. The stretch caused John’s T-shirt to ride up slightly and Sherlock studied the stripe of skin like it held the answers to immortality. He quickly diverted his eyes when John looked over at him. John stood and sat on the bed next to Sherlock.   
“So, what do you want to do while we wait?”   
Sherlock shrugged and looked around. He was about to answer when a phone went off. It was John’s, ringing from the pocket of his hoodie. John smiled at Sherlock apologetically and stood to get it. “It’s Harry. It’ll just be a moment.” He answered the call and stepped into the hallway.   
Sherlock let out a breath. He looked at John’s hoodie and noticed something sticking out of the pocket. Curiosity getting the better of him, he glanced at the partially closed door before quietly going over to the hoodie. He grabbed the little white slip and looked at it. His eyes grew wide as he realized what it was. It was a ticket. More specifically, a ticket to one of his shows. John came to his shows? How could he have not known this?   
Sherlock was still staring at the small ticket when John came back into the room. He jumped slightly and hide it behind his back but not before John saw what it was. Now it was John’s turn to blush scarlet. They both looked at each other shyly before Sherlock hesitantly broke the silence.  
“I didn’t know you came to my shows…” He looked at his toe digging into the carpet with quick glances up at John.  
“Yeah… I’m a… bit of a fan of yours. You’re very… good.” John answered rather lamely, hands shoved in the pockets of his jeans.  
Sherlock bit his bottom lip. “Um, I could show you my new routine… if you want.” He offered shyly.   
John blinked at him before smiling. “Really? You don’t have to. Not that I wouldn’t love that.”   
Sherlock smiled shyly and nodded. “I need practice it anyway. Just give me a moment to change into the proper attire. If you could put the disk in the player, that would be helpful. It’s on my desk.” Sherlock ducked out of the room to grab his ballet bag.   
John repressed the urge to do a happy dance. A private show from Sherlock? Amazing! He quickly headed to the desk and found the disk. It was under one of Sherlock’s notebooks. As he grabbed the disk, he accidently pushed the notebook, causing it to open. He was about to close it when he saw what was on the pages. Was that… Him? He put the disk in the player distractedly as he looked over the notes. It was full of sketches of him in rugby. Did Sherlock come to his games? Why did he have a book of sketches of him though? He was still puzzling that over when Sherlock came back. Upon seeing what was John’s hand, he let out a strangled noise and rushed forward to grab it. John blushed but quickly let go, favoring catching Sherlock before he fell head first into his own desk. Sherlock held to book protectively against his chest and refused to meet John’s eyes.  
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to read that. The disk was under it and I accidently knocked it open when I grabbed it and I saw the sketches. They are really good by the way. I’m sure you were studying something brilliant and important but if you want to come to my future games I can totally get you free tickets or something. I’d love to have you come.” John rambled in basically all one breath. He was still holding Sherlock around the waist from catching him.   
Sherlock looked at him from the corner of his eye, bright red in the face. He didn’t seem upset about the sketches, just embarrassed. Sherlock took a deep breath before pushing a hand over John’s mouth to stop the rambling. “It’s… fine. Looks like we have both been watching each other huh?” He smiled shyly, moving his hand but not dropping it completely, rather resting it lightly on John’s shoulder.   
John smiled, relieved and chuckled. “Looks like it. If I had known it was a mutual thing I would have asked you out sooner.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he blushed a new and started rambling again. “I mean if you want to go out that is. I mean, I had wanted to ask you out but thought I would properly ask you out, I didn’t mean to just blurt it out or anything. That was stupid, I’m stupid. I would totally get if you didn’t want to or something.”  
Sherlock had gone still at the admission. He stared at John as he rambled. John liked him and was asking him out, even if it was suddenly. Sherlock thought he might be dreaming but if that was the case he didn’t want to ever wake up. He put down his notebook and covered John’s mouth again to stop his rambling. However, this time he covered John’s mouth with his own. John promptly stopped talking and returned the hesitant kiss. It was chaste and sweet. They eventually pulled back and looked at each other, both smiling too much to continue.   
“I hope that is a sufficient answer to your offer.” Sherlock grinned.   
John smirked back. “I don’t know. I think I got it but maybe you should try again.”   
Sherlock giggled and kissed him again. John used his hold around his waist to pull him close as Sherlock wound his arms around John’s neck, holding onto his shoulders and leaning into him as much as he could. He felt like he was on a cloud and never wanted to stop. John was just as disinclined to pull away. Soon the kiss became more heated and Sherlock tugged John to his bed. They both sat, never breaking away from each. John pulled Sherlock on to his lap. Sherlock straddled him and ran his fingers through John’s short hair. John ran his hands up and down Sherlock’s back, eventually settling his hands on Sherlock’s hips, pulling him as close as possible.   
John was about to slip a hand under Sherlock’s shirt when a short shout sounded from Sherlock’s doorway, breaking them both apart. “What are you doing to my little brother?!”   
Sherlock pulled back and glared at Mycroft, remaining where he was straddling John. John blushed to the roots of his hair and moved his hands. Sherlock grabbed his wrists and put them back. “Hello brother dear. As you can see I’m busy so if you wouldn’t mind giving us some privacy, it would be much appreciated.” Sherlock stated blandly.   
“I shall give you privacy, brother dearest, but I don’t think I will give the same privilege to the young neanderthal that was about to plunder you.” Mycroft sneered coldly.   
John ducked his head and looked away while Sherlock glared even hotter at Mycroft. “It would seem your abilities of observation are as bad as ever. It is quite the other way around so unless you want a show, I suggest vacating the area.”   
The brothers had a glare off in which something happened that John couldn’t figure out but eventually Mycroft huffed, glared an obvious silent warning at John, turned on his heel and left. Sherlock rolled his eyes exaggeratedly and stood, walking over to slam his door shut. John, for his part, was about to self combust in embarrassment.   
“I apologize for my brother. He makes it his job to be as annoying as physically possible. Must always stick his oversized nose into everything.” Sherlock huffed as he walked over and climbed back into John’s lap.   
“It’s all fine. Though, we might have been getting carried away. I want to do this right and that includes no ‘plundering’ before the first date.” John grinned up at Sherlock cheekily.   
Sherlock raised an eyebrow and sat more firmly in John’s lap. “You sure about that? I certainly wouldn’t mind.”   
“I’m sure. So how about we finish this experiment and figure out that date I promised.”   
Sherlock sighed theatrically and climbed off John’s lap with a final lingering kiss. The timer went off and they conducted the second stage of analyzes with Sherlock talking and John recording. Once that was done, the only thing left of the experiment was to be done the following day.  
“I have a game tomorrow if you want to come.” John suggested after saving everything.  
Sherlock sat on the bed next to him and hummed happily as John’s arm went around his shoulders. “That could be nice. Sure you want to be seen with me though?” Sherlock leaned into John, resting his head on his shoulder.  
“Of course I want to be seen with you. Get to show you off.” John grinned and kissed Sherlock’s head.   
Sherlock made a happy noise and burrowed closer. “Okay.”  
John nodded. “Great. It’s a date then.”  
Sherlock lifted his head to look at him and smiled. “Yeah. It’s a date then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked this! I might continue this but I'm not sure yet so let me know if you want me to.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Comments are love.


End file.
